Assault & Homicide

When you are accused of a crime, the severity of the potential penalties that you are facing will depend upon how serious the crime is. Typically, the most serious of criminal charges are the ones where you are accused of causing harm to someone else. Two examples of such charges include assault charges and homicide charges.

Assault & Homicide

Assault and homicide are both criminal charges that occur when you are accused of doing something wrong to another person. Assault charges may be brought against you for any unwanted contact or touching of your victim. Because any type of unwanted contact can technically lead to assault charges, there are different degrees of assault, depending upon the type of unwanted contact. For instance, grabbing someone’s hand without permission and not letting that person leave can technically constitute assault since it is unwanted touching, but it is not going to result in penalties as severe as hitting someone with a baseball bat. Assault charges, therefore, may include both simple assault and aggravated assault.

In some cases, assault charges can turn into homicide charges when the victim that you touch is killed as a result of your actions. Like assault, however, there are different types of homicide and some are more serious than others. For instance, killing someone with your vehicle accidentally when drunk is homicide, but the penalties aren’t as severe as when you carry out an intentional murder that you plan in advance beforehand.

Defending Yourself Against Assault & Homicide Charges

Whenever you are accused of assault or homicide, it is very important to speak with a criminal defense lawyer to learn what your options are for defending yourself. There are a number of different ways you can defend against these serious charges and potentially have the charges dropped or avoid conviction through an acquittal. For example:

• Both assault and homicide are crimes where intent is important. You must have meant to do some wrongful action in order to be considered guilty of either. An experienced criminal defense lawyer can thus help you to show that you did not intend the wrongful action(s) you are accused of.
• Self-defense can be a defense to homicide charges. If someone was approaching you in a way that made you feel threatened and you felt your only recourse was to act in a way that led to that person’s death, you may be able to avoid conviction by proving that you were just defending yourself.

These are just two examples of the many ways that a criminal defense lawyer can defend you against assault & homicide charges. Remember, the prosecutor must prove that you were guilty of either assault or of homicide to get a conviction—you just have to introduce reasonable doubt as to whether you were actually guilty. A Pennsylvania criminal defense lawyer can help you to introduce that doubt and avoid the consequences of a guilty verdict.

Getting Help

Assault & homicide charges both must be taken very seriously. If you are accused of assault and/or homicide, contact the criminal defense law firm of Lawrence R. Dworkin today at 610-357-3506 or using our online form.